Asking Questions In A Classroom: Top Reasons To Always Encourage Students
Suppose you teach a class about the laws of gravity or the difference between convex and concave mirrors. Suddenly, a hand shoots up. You suddenly pause and ask the student to wait until you’ve finished the lesson to ask you questions, and the hand drops down but doesn’t come back up later.
Even though you feel disappointed, you feel you’ve done the right thing because questions in the middle of your lesson would derail you from your lesson objective. But if students are stopped from asking questions in the classroom too many times, they stop asking altogether.
Teachers need to recognize that asking questions adds value to learning, and it is essential to create an environment where students feel free to ask questions when they don’t understand something or wish to know more.
Let’s take a look at why you must always encourage students to ask questions and never make them feel bad for interrupting you.
- Questions Add Value To Learning And Always Breed More Questions That Offer A Better Understanding Of The Lesson
Typically, the birth of a question is followed up with more questions, and it is a good thing. It leads to students acquiring more information about the subject they didn’t know before.
- Questions Help To Break The Classroom Monotony And Energize The Students
Is there any point in a classroom where a single person talks for thirty to forty-five minutes? Most English medium schools in Siliguri and elsewhere are moving away from this one-sided teaching style and embracing a more wholesome approach to learning where the teacher and the students are equally involved.
Questions break the monotony of the classroom and also break the ice. If students are asking questions, it means they have been intently listening to the teacher, and they want more information or explanation on what’s being taught.
- Asking Questions In The Classroom Promotes Personal Growth And Teaches Students How To Be Confident And Brave
It takes a lot of courage to ask questions in front of the entire class. While some students find it easy, others feel shy. Many students avoid asking questions because they do not want to appear as someone who doesn’t understand the topic. So, they choose to remain quiet.
When these students take the initiative to ask questions, they build their confidence in the process. That’s where intellectual humility comes in, and people dare to admit they don’t know or understand everything.
Teachers must create a nurturing classroom environment where every student is encouraged to ask questions.
- When Students Are Asking Questions, They Are Forced To Think, And This Makes Them Learn Better
The best way to find out if your students understand the lesson is to make them ask you questions. Or, you can ask a question and individually make students answer it instead of having everyone nod their heads in unison.
The students are not forced into textbook-based learning, but they are motivated to think, ask questions, and truly learn about various subjects. It doesn’t matter if they have got the correct answer. But the goal is to make them think and put effort into finding the right answer. Such an approach to learning is common in several CBSE schools, such as Sri Sri Academy Siliguri.
- Questions Accentuate Student Engagement With The Lesson Being Taught In The Classroom
It is important to remember that teaching isn’t a one-way street where the teacher does all the talking and leaves the classroom. A good teacher will always make students actively participate in the lesson. When children listen passively, they’re not genuinely engaging with the lesson.
Asking questions and encouraging students to ask questions is one of the best ways to enhance student engagement in the classroom.
- Asking Questions Help Students To Retain The Information Being Relayed In The Classroom, And They Remember The Lessons That Are Taught
Passively listening to the lesson being taught isn’t the best way to learn or remember. When there are interactive sessions in the classroom, students tend to engage with the lesson and remember what’s being taught.
When there’s an exchange of questions, the topic becomes relatable and exciting. It makes students curious to find the answer, and hence, they remember it for a long time.
- A Fruitful Q&A Session In The Classroom Can Instantly Make The Subject Being Taught So Much More Interesting
Classes guided by the questions asked by students are much more interesting than classes where only one person is doing all the talking. Questions result in a more engaging and exciting learning environment where the entire class is motivated to participate in the discussion.
When questions are asked, the boring topics also seem interesting, and the classroom becomes livelier and more interactive. Questions make students think beyond the topic being taught and open the space for more perspectives and opinions. The moment everyone in the classroom participates in the discussion, the topic becomes more interesting, and it helps students remember everything that is being taught.
So, teachers can plan to include a few minutes of interactive question-answer sessions in the classroom.
Summing Up
The habit of asking questions in the classroom is not something someone develops overnight. Also, it has a lot to do with the classroom environment, especially the teacher. A teacher’s role is to create a free and encouraging environment where students feel confident and motivated to reach out with their doubts and ask questions.
Teachers must create a safe space for students to ask wherever’s on their minds to build their confidence. While the idea of asking questions in front of the entire class may seem daunting at first, it becomes easier if the questions are encouraged. It will help students in the long run and impact their communication and social skills and improve their public speaking skills.
So, parents need to ensure they’re sending their child to a school that encourages the all-around development of the students. An essential part of this development is asking questions.